Editorial Note: Going forward, we shall have our eyes and ears fully set to detect any form of Bullshit being hawked as truth by those whom we have entrusted as a country to lead us in forging our collective destiny....Our BS Detector has been ON for the last 24hrs and here are its inaugural findings.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Wednesday appeared before the National Assembly Health Committee led by Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege to answer on the misappropriation of COVID-19 funds.
While CS Kagwe conceded to having instructed KEMSA CEO Jonah Manjari on the use of the funds, he denied that tailor-made the procurement processes for Manjari to follow.
"It’s my job to put people under pressure so that they can produce the results we are looking for. It’s not my job to advise anybody against anything they are not supposed to do, and in the event that I told a CEO to do something that is against the law or something they are not comfortable with, he should have said give me that in writing," Kagwe is quoted by the Standard as saying.
He added: "When you go wrong you don’t go wrong because the CS told you to go wrong, you go wrong because you are a poor manager and you don’t know how to manage and use the laws on procurement."
Kagwe and his Permanent Secretary Susan Mochache have been under the spotlight after Mr Manjari blamed them for pressurising the agency and issuing orders on how to procure the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) amounting to hundreds of millions of shillings.
The CS also refuted claims that PPEs and testing kits donated by Chinese businessman Jack Ma were sold in Tanzania.
"There was no way the PPEs could have been sold in a country declared COVID-19 free," the CS said.
Bullshit Detector (BSD) Analysis
1. It was utter bullshit for CS Kagwe to argue that, "...in the event that I told a CEO to do something that is against the law or something they are not comfortable with, he should have said give me that in writing" - Denial of Objective Reality - Can a junior officer in reality demand that their boss do what the CS is saying?
2. It was utter bullshit to say, "There was no way the PPEs could have been sold in a country declared COVID-19 free" - Comical Hilarious Claim.
BSD Parameter Used - Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a form of bullshittery where the bullshitter just blatantly denies objective reality, and tries to convince you that their version of reality is correct. This often takes the form of denying a person’s memory of an event, or making comically hilarious claims about the issue at hand.